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Gauge restorations


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Guest DodgeKCL

Bob's Speedometer Repair in Mich. is very much alive and well. He's been around for years and you can talk to him on the phone. I have. He has a site on the net but it's best to talk to him about price and time to do the restorations.

I didn't use Bob for all my guages. I found that if you take off the face plates and give them to one of those new outfits that makes computer graphic decals, I have 2 in my area that help car guys, they can scan the face plate and redo the plate as a decal and you put that over the face plate and you wouldn't know the gauge from new. This is assuming the mechanical part of the gauge is OK. They 'laser' out the holes for the needle stop pins and the slot for the needle to move back and forth in. The decals are self adhesive and made of vinyl. They are made of the same UV protected stuff ,full side decals, you see on large trucks like Coca Cola etc. The gauges in a 1933,'34 and '35 Dodge truck regardless of tonnage are AC (GM). The speedo is the same as a 1932 or '33 Chev car and the same as a GMC or Chev truck from about 1932 to 1935. Only the face plate graphics and needle are Dodge or GM unique. However the drive gear ratio may not be the same as our Dodges but you could change that over. Or run with the error because it would be the same through out the speedo's range. The 3 dash opening 'holes' are the same and the chrome bezels are the same. As are the 3 glass plates.

Just as an aside: Maybe it's not yet common knowledge but you can take one of those decals off a 'pony car' aircleaner into these shops and they can duplicate it for you. Assuming you can extricate it from the air cleaner,or valve cover, in reasonable condition. It doesn't have to be perfect,they can make up for tears and discoloration, but you should know what color it was when new. They tell me they have 1000s of colors and 1000s (!) of letter fonts. It would appear only money is the question. Eveything I've had done so far has been below $50 and once they have it in their computer they will 'print' out more for a nominal fee.

Edited by DodgeKCL (see edit history)
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Fast Jack Need# or company name. Thanks Dave

I gave his bus card to my buddy in Seattle as he has his speedometer there right now. There is a web site. You should be able to google him.

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If all the gauges work okay and all you need is to freshen up the faces I also recommend having a graphics shop make new decals. I had some made for my '36 Dodge and they came out great and for less than silk screen.

post-33734-143141785875_thumb.jpg

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Guest DodgeKCL

These are scans of an original KC(L) oil gauge face plate and the decal made by my local graphics shop from it. The ripples on the decal are only from my Lexmark scanner they are not in the decal.

post-31311-143141786243_thumb.jpg

post-31311-143141786244_thumb.jpg

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